There are 4 vacancies in the Apex Court & 3 HC's are functioning without regular Chief Justices, sources in the Govt said, pointing out that the law ministry is yet to receive recommendations from the Supreme Court Collegium to fill up the slots.
The first vacancy in the Apex Court arose following the retirement of Justice Ranjan Gogoi in Nov 2019 as the CJI.
Subsequently, 3 more vacancies arose in the Supreme Court following the retirements of justices Deepak Gupta, R Bhanumathi & Arun Mishra.
With a sanctioned strength of 34, the Top Court is functioning with thirty judges. The HC's of Gauhati, Madhya Pradesh & Uttarakhand are functioning with officiating Chief Justices.
Officiating or acting chief justices are appointed in the absence of a chief justice to ensure that the day to day administration of the Court is not affected.
The Govt has so far not received any recommendation from the collegium to fill up these vacancies in the Supreme Court & the 3 HC's, a senior functionary said. Vacancies keep arising in courts due to retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges.
The Govt has maintained that appointment of Judges in the HC's is a “continuous collaborative process” between the Executive & the Judiciary, as it requires consultation & approval from various constitutional authorities.
As per the procedure for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court & the 25 High Courts, the Supreme Court collegium recommends the names of candidates to the Govt which, in turn, either accepts the proposal or returns it for reconsideration. The collegium comprises the CJI & 4 senior-most judges of the SC. The combined sanctioned strength of the 25 HC's is 1,079 judges.
As on Oct 1, there were 404 vacancies, with a maximum of 60 in the High Court of Allahabad. As on Sept 1, there were 398 vacancies in the high courts & as on Sept 1, 48 new Judges in various High Court's have been appointed.
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